Heat at Trail Blazers
The Miami Heat found their way into the win column for the first time this year against Brooklyn on Sunday and will try to carry some of that momentum when they open a five-game West Coast road trip at the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday. The Heat have been held under 90 points in the last two games and will need to find more offense against the Trail Blazers. Portland is averaging 106.2 points in winning five of its last six games.
The Trail Blazers are winners of 10 of the last 12 and bounced back from one of those rare defeats by taking out the Los Angeles Lakers 98-94 on Monday. “We made plays and got some stops when we needed to,” Portland coach Terry Stotts told reporters. “There are no easy ones in this league so it was good to get it.” Miami was echoing that sentiment after squeezing out the 88-84 victory over the Nets on Sunday that snapped a four-game slide.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE HEAT (15-20): One of the bright spots of an otherwise down season in Miami is the development of center Hassan Whiteside, who bounced around the fringes of NBA rosters since being drafted in 2010 before finding a role with the Heat. The 25-year-old matched a career-high with 10 rebounds and recorded a career-high five blocks against the Nets and is averaging 10.3 points and 7.7 boards in the last three games as his minutes have increased. “Each minute I'm given, I just want to build on it,” Whiteside told ESPN.com after logging 27 minutes against the Nets. “This is the most I've played all season, and a couple weeks ago I wasn't even playing.”
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (27-8): Damian Lillard was the star again on Monday with 39 points and has gone for 26 or more in four of the last six games. “He just makes tough shots when you need them,” Stotts told reporters of Lillard. “He’s a special player. Some of the shots that he can make. And he’s very driven. He’s a great competitor and I think he’s able to will himself to do some things.” Lillard has knocked down multiple 3-pointers in each of the last six contests and was 4-of-8 from beyond the arc against the Lakers.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Trail Blazers G Wesley Matthews (knee) is questionable for Thursday.
2. Heat G Dwyane Wade has scored 20 or more points in nine of his last 10 games.
3. Miami has taken three straight in the series and earned a 108-107 win at Portland last season behind Chris Bosh’s 37 points.